Battle of Oriskany

The Battle of Oriskany (6 August 1777) was a major battle of the Saratoga campaign of the American Revolutionary War. A force of 800 American troops and native Oneida allies under Nicholas Herkimer was ambushed by Loyalist militia and Iroquois warriors at a ravine near Oriskany as it attempted to march to relieve Fort Stanwix, leading to a bloody battle. While the Americans suffered heavy losses, they succeeded in distracting the Indians as the Fort Stanwix garrison plundered their camp, eventually leading to the Indians deserting the British side.

Early in the Siege of Fort Stanwix, Brigadier-General Herkimer and 800 Tryon County militiamen and allied Oneida warriors approached Fort Stanwix in an attempt to lift the British general Barry St. Leger's siege. St. Leger sent a Hesse-Hanau jaeger detachment, John Johnson's loyalist King's Royal Regiment of New York, Indian allies from the Iroquois (particularly the Mohawk and Seneca), and Indian Department Rangers to intercept the American reinforcement column.

The Loyalist and Indian force ambushed Herkimer's force in a valley 6 miles east of Fort Stanwix, near the village of Oriskany. Early in the battle, Herkimer was mortally wounded, and he had his men prop him up against a tree; while puffing on his pipe, he gave orders to his men. The American militiamen could not hold their own against Iroquois chief Joseph Brant's warriors, and many of them were cut down as they slowly reloaded their muskets. However, the militia began to work in pairs, with one man shooting a musket as another loaded another musket, and the two switched guns after the shooter fired his musket and needed another one. The battle was fought at close range, with brutal hand-to-hand combat taking place between the combatants. In the end, 385 Americans were killed in the battle, while the Loyalists and Indians suffered just 93 losses. However, Britain's Indian allies returned to find that their camp had been plundered by the Fort Stanwix garrison, and many Indians deserted. The battle also started a civil war within the Iroquois confederacy, as the Oneida and Tuscarora sided with the Americans, while the Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, and Onondaga sided with the British.